Federal arrests tied to Twin Cities anti-ICE church protest as Guthrie mother search shifts criminal

Twin Cities protest arrests expand federal legal questions around worship disruptions and press activity

Federal authorities have continued making arrests connected to an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, a flash point in a broader stretch of immigration enforcement-related demonstrations in and around Minneapolis. The incident has drawn attention both for the setting—a church service—and for the legal theories officials have weighed in response.

The protest took place Jan. 18, when demonstrators entered Cities Church during a service and chanted slogans calling for changes to federal immigration enforcement. The action was organized in the context of heightened local tensions over federal enforcement activity in Minnesota and a surge of protests that have included demonstrations outside federal buildings and other sites across the Twin Cities.

By late January, at least three people linked to the church protest had been arrested, including Nekima Levy Armstrong, a former president of the Minneapolis NAACP chapter. Court proceedings that followed highlighted a central issue in the case: whether the conduct inside the church meets the threshold for federal charges intended to address interference with protected activities.

• Arrests tied to the church protest have included activists accused of obstructing or interfering with worship activities.
• Federal prosecutors explored statutes sometimes invoked in cases involving obstruction and civil-rights-related allegations; the legal posture has been contested in court filings.
• The case also raised questions about the distinction between participation in a protest and documenting it, as journalists who were present during the incident also faced scrutiny and legal action.

Separately, the wider protest environment has included large demonstrations across Minneapolis and St. Paul, some of which have led to dispersal orders and mass arrests following property damage or alleged assaults on officers. City and federal officials have described the period as an escalation in confrontations surrounding immigration enforcement activity and public resistance to it.

Federal court decisions and charging requests in recent weeks have underscored the tension between protecting access to worship services and safeguarding rights to protest and newsgather in public-interest events.

Missing-person search involving Savannah Guthrie’s mother treated as criminal investigation

In a separate developing story, law enforcement in Arizona continues searching for Nancy Guthrie, 84, the mother of television anchor Savannah Guthrie. Authorities say she was last seen the evening of Jan. 31, 2026, at her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson. She was reported missing Feb. 1 after concern was raised when she did not appear at church as expected.

Investigators have said the case is being treated as a criminal investigation based on evidence at the residence that suggests she did not leave voluntarily. Officials have described her as mentally sharp but with mobility limitations and a medical need for medication, increasing urgency as days pass without confirmed contact.

Authorities have pursued physical evidence and surveillance leads and have asked the public to report any relevant information. As of Feb. 3, 2026, no suspect has been publicly identified and no arrest has been announced in the Arizona investigation.

Both developments remain active, with court actions and investigative updates expected to shape what comes next—one case centered on the legal boundaries of protest activity in a place of worship, and the other on an urgent missing-person investigation now treated as a suspected abduction.